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THE CAPTUKE OF THE HESSIANS 






ONE THOUSAND MEN 


FOR A 

CHRISTMAS PRESENT 



MARY B. SHELDON 


lUustrateti t)g 
L. J. BRIDGMAN 



1898 

2nd COPY, 
1898. 



BOSTON./ ^^ggg 

ESTES AND 


TWO COPIES RECEIVED. 


PZ'3 


5618 


Copyright^ i8g8 
By Estes and Lauriat 


(iTolontal Press: 

Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co. 
Boston, U. S. A. 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

y/ 

The Capture of the Hessians. . . Frontispiece 

‘'Getting Acquainted 14 

^“‘Friend George Is a Good Man’” . . .19 

'^Gathering the Boats 23 

‘^The Arrival of the American Forces . . .27 

“"The Noisy Hessians 35 

*1Grandma Van Brunt 43 

^“Ben, Look Here! This Is Blood!’” . . .47 

"tlN TO Trenton 51 

y 

“‘Tell Your General to Use the Bayonet’” 57 



ONE THOUSAND MEN EOR A 
CHRISTMAS PRESENT. . 


MEDIUM-SIZED boy and a very large dog 



were going rapidly along the river road towards 
Trenton. 

“ Colonel ! ” exclaimed the boy, suddenly, how 
do you like New Jersey ? ” 

The dog wagged his tail, stopped for a moment as . 
if to consider the question, then darted across the 
road after a dead leaf which the November wind was 
turning over and over so fast that he could not be 
sure that it was not a very small and peculiarly 
shaped rabbit which was trying to escape him. The 
leaf, eluding both dog and wind, hastened to hide 
itself in the woods which stretched along the side 
of the road opposite the river, and at this the gale, 
baffled but undaunted, charged furiously and without 
warning upon the three-cornered hat on the boy’s 
head. Before Pearson could put up his hand to 
catch it, the hat was gone, — whirled up the road 
at the rate of forty miles an hour. Both boy and 
dog gave chase, but the gale had the start, and it 


11 


12 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


was only the unexpected which always happens that 
saved the hat, and left the wind, for the second time, 
the loser in the race. 

The unexpected was another boy. Stepping out 
of the woods into the road just in front of the hat 
as it was being driven past him on its hurried course, 
and being a boy of quick thought and prompt action, 
he captured the chase before the wind could collect 
itself to interfere. Colonel came bounding along 
with short, sharp barks of uncertainty and excite- 
ment, and a moment later Pearson ran up, bare- 
headed and out of breath. 

For an instant the two boys stood silently regard- 
ing each other. Then the newcomer asked, holding 
out the rather battered-looking article of head-gear : 

‘‘ Is this your hat ? ” 

Yes,” answered Pearson, and Pm mighty glad 
you caught it for me. Thank you,” he added, as the 
other handed him the hat, and he put it firmly on his 
head. They began to walk along the road together, 
for it was too cold to stand still long. 

‘‘ What’s your name ?” asked Pearson, with a view 
to further acquaintance. “ Do you live here ? ” 

Yes,” replied the other boy ; ‘‘ my name is Ben 
Hadley, and I live on the farm next to yours.” 

“ How do you know where I live ? ” asked Pearson, 
surprised. “ I’ve only been here three days, and I 
never saw you before.” 

“ I’ve seen returned Ben, smiling, “ and your 

dog, too. I went by your place the day after you 


FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


13 


came, and you were both in the south lot. Then 
I asked old Sam who the new family was, and he 
said your name was Holcomb, and you’d just come 
from Massachusetts. He says he’s going to work 
for you.” 

“ The coloured man, Sam ? Yes, he is ; my grand- 
father sent him to us.” 

“ I know your grandfather and grandmother, — 
maybe better than you do, if you’ve always lived in 
Massachusetts. They’re Mr. and Mrs. Van Brunt, 
over the river, aren’t they ? ” 

“ Yes ; that’s one reason Ave came here, because 
they’re getting so old, and mother didn’t want to be 
so far away from them. Then, after Harry joined 
the army, it was lonesome in Marblehead, so father 
sold the house, and we came to New Jersey.” 

“ Who’s Harry ? Which army’s he in ? ” 

“ Which army ! Our army, of course, — General 
Washington’s. Harry’s my brother. Which army 
do you suppose he’d be in?” 

“ I didn’t know. He might be a redcoat, mightn’t 
he?” 

He might not ! Are you for the King ? ” 

No ; I guess I’m not ! But I didn’t know but 
what you were ; lots of folks are, around here. 
They say we’ve got no chance, and all they want 
is to make peace. You know we’ve been losing 
everywhere, lately.” 

“ Yes ; I know. I hate to talk about it, but it 
does look awful dark for us, just now.” 


14 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


“ Was your brother with our men on Long 
Island?’^ 

“ Was he ! ” cried Pearson, brightening up ; “I 
guess if he hadn’t been, or, at any rate, if his regi- 
ment hadn’t been, they’d never have got over to 
New York that night. Harry’s one of Colonel 
Glover’s marine regiment, and they’re all more at 
home on the water than they are on the land. 

We’ve always lived by the 
sea. Pve got a boat here 
on the river.” 

Ben came closer to Pear- 
son as he heard this last 
statement, and, looking 
around as if to see that no 
one was near, he said, in 
a low tone : 

“ You won’t have it very 
long.” 

GETTING ACQUAINTED. What do you mean ? ” 

asked Pearson, surprised. 
« Why won’t I have it ? Who’ll take it ? ” 

“ My father, and Mr. Barnes, and some other good 
patriots,” replied Ben, mysteriously. 

‘‘ What in creation do you mean ? ” demanded 
Pearson, for the second time. “What will they 
take my boat for?” 

“ Well, it’s a secret, but you’re on the right side, 
and Pll tell you. General Washington has sent 
scouts up and down the river for seventy miles. 



FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


15 


with orders to collect all the boats of every kind, 
and bring ’em to some place near here. They came 
to our farm only yesterday, and father’s so well 
known as a patriot that they’ve given him charge 
of the whole thing. He’ll have to take your boat, 
too, I suppose, though maybe not just yet.” 

« But what’s it all for ?” 

Again Ben looked mysterious, and very important. 
He laid one hand on Pearson’s arm, and, putting his 
lips close to the other’s ear, he whispered : 

“For Washington’s army to cross in, if they have 
to!” 

Pearson started. “ Are they coming here ? ” he 
asked, excitedly. “How do you know?” 

“The messenger told father. He left the army 
two days ago, near Hackensack. They’re retreat- 
ing across this State, and Cornwallis is after ’em. 
Perhaps they’ll make a stand at Trenton, and per- 
haps they’ll have to go on to Philadelphia. The 
boats are to take them across if it’s necessary. 
Oh, I wish I was big enough to fight!” 

“ Shake hands I ” responded Pearson to this, heart- 
ily. “ I wish so, too ; Pve wished it a hundred 
times 1 ” 

He held out his hand as he spoke, and Ben clasped 
it warmly. The two boys were friends from that 
moment. 

“ Are you going into the town ? ” asked Ben, as 
they walked on again. 

“ Yes,” answered Pearson. “ It was dark the 


16 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


other night when we got there in the stage, and 
grandfather met us with his horses, and took us 
right out to our farm, and I haven’t been this way 
since. So this morning father said Colonel and I 
could go and see what Trenton looks like. Is that 
where you’re going?” 

“ Yes ; I’m on my way to my grandmother’s ; 
she’s a Quakeress. You come there with me, and 
then I’ll show you the rest of the town. It’s pretty 
large ; I guess there’s a hundred houses, or maybe 
more, on both sides of the Creek.” 

“ Do you call that large ? Marblehead is bigger 
than that, and then you ought to see Boston!” 

Have you been in Boston ? ” 

“ Well, I guess I have 1 I lived there till I was 
ten years old.” 

‘‘ You did ! You must have seen a lot. I’ve 
never been in any town but Trenton.” 

“ Why, I lived in Boston when the first redcoats 
landed. I was only six years old, but I remember 
it perfectly. Harry and I ran after the band when 
the troops marched up to the castle. Did you ever 
hear this tune ? ” Pearson began to whistle : 



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, r r n r- r r r_ r -r~ 

7 ^ r 1 

— ^ — a i:: — r — 

— r — :: — 




“ No,” replied Ben, admiringly. “ What is it ?” 


FOE A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


17 


“ It’s some old English tune, — something about 
Cromwell’s soldiers. The band played it that day 
while the men were landing, and when they were 
marching up to the castle. But last year I heard 
some new words to it, like this : 

“ ‘ Father and I went down to camp 
Along with Captain Goodwin, 

Where we see the men and boys 
As thick as hasty pnddin’. 

“ ‘ There was Captain Washington 
Upon a slapping stallion, 

A-giving orders to the men, — 

I guess there was a million.’ ” 

“ That’s fine ! ” cried Ben. “ Sing it again, so’s I 
can catch it, won’t you ? ” 

Pearson good-naturedly sang and whistled it over 
and over, and by the time the boys reached Trenton 
they were both sending the new tune out on to the 
November air with all the force of their lungs. 

They entered the town from the southeast, passed 
through the less thickly settled portion, crossed the 
Assanpuik Creek, and made their way to the house 
of Ben’s grandmother. The old lady welcomed them 
cordially, but when Ben said, “ Grandmother, this is 
a new friend of mine, who’s just come from Massa- 
chusetts ; his brother is in our army,” the Quakeress 
shook her head. 

“ Ah, Benjamin,” she said, gravely, thou thinks 
too much of armies. Thou knows thy grandfather 


18 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


had naught to do with warlike things, and grieved 
at heart would he be if he could hear thy talk of 
fight.” 

« Why, grandmother,” laughed Ben, “ don’t you 
think General Washington is a good man?” 

“ I doubt it not, my son ; I doubt not that friend 
George is a good man according to his lights.” 

“ And Doctor Franklin, that father named me for ? 
He believes in fighting; he’s on his way to France 
even now to get help for our armies if he can.” 

The old lady shook her head again. “ Thy grand- 
father had naught to do with war or warlike things,” 
she repeated. “ But thou art young, Benjamin ; thou 
art young ; and these are troublous times.” 

‘‘ Now, Ben,” said Pearson, after they had left the 
home of the Quakeress, and were making their way 
back through the town on to the river road again, 
suppose you go with me to see my grandfather and 
grandmother. It’s early yet, and we’ll have time to 
go, and get back before dinner. You can row, can’t 
you?” 

‘‘ Of course I can.” 

“All right. There’s two sets of oars in the boat, 
and we’ll be there in less than an hour. Come on.” 

The two boys and the dog went back the way they 
had come, past the woods from which Ben had ap- 
peared to capture the hat, and which he told Pearson 
were on the edge of his father’s farm, and down the 
road a quarter of a mile further until they came to 
a place where a good-sized row-boat floated in the 





i 


'* ! * 


“‘FRIEND GEORGE IS A GOOD MAN 


9 99 



FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


21 


Delaware River. Colonel instantly leaped into the 
boat in a manner which showed that it was not 
the first time he had been on the water in a craft 
like that, and the boys took the oars and pushed 
off into the stream, heading the bow of the boat 
towards the north. 

“ Ben,” began Pearson, after they had rowed in 
silence for a short time, “ if they should collect all 
the boats soon, — you know what you were telling 
me, — how could I get over to grandfather’s?” 

“Well,” answered Ben, “there’s a ford about three 
miles from here ; and then eight miles above Trenton 
is MacKonkey’s ferry ; you could go over in that.” 

“But that would be a tarnation long walk,” ob- 
jected Pearson. “ We’re a mile below Trenton, so it 
would be nine miles up to the ferry, and then about 
three miles back to grandfather’s. Whew ! ” 

“ Perhaps father won’t think it’s necessary to take 
your boat, if you object to giving it,” returned Ben, 
rather stiffly. 

Pearson noticed the change of voice, and looked 
quickly around. He knew in a moment the reason 
for Ben’s altered manner. 

“ Why, look here, Ben,” he said, instantly, “ I for- 
got for a minute what the boats are wanted for. Of 
course Pll give mine up, and be glad to do it, — I 
guess I’d do more than that for the army, any day. 
They can have it any time they want it, and I’ll 
walk.” 

“Oh, well,” answered Ben, in a mollified tone. 


22 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


“ it may not be necessary. Father knows that your 
family are on the right side^ and your place and ours 
are so near the town that I should think our boats 
might be left where they are till they’re needed. 
We could bring ’em up in a hurry at any time if 
they wanted ’em. And besides that, there’ll soon 
be so much ice in the river that you couldn’t row 
a boat over, anyway ; and by a month from now 
it will probably be frozen solid, so you can walk on 
the ice from shore to shore.” 

The boys rowed on till they reached a point nearly 
five miles above Trenton, on the Pennsylvania side 
of the river. There they landed, tied the boat, and 
with Colonel bounding on ahead, they made their 
way up the bank, and were on Mr. Van Brunt’s 
farm. A short walk over the fields took them to 
the house, where they were made welcome by the 
old Dutch farmer and his wife, and urged to come 
over again. 

“We may not have any boats very long, Mr. Van 
Brunt,” said Ben, and he went on to tell the old 
gentleman what he had whispered to Pearson earlier 
in the morning. 

“Is it so? Is it so?” answered Mr. Van Brunt, 
thoughtfully. “Well, boy,” he continued, turning 
to his grandson, “ your ancestors fought for freedom 
against the Spaniards in the old days, and you’ve 
some of their spirit in you yet, it may be.” 

“ Lots of it, grandfather ! ” cried Pearson, quickly ; 
“ and I only hope I’ll get a chance to show it ! ” 


FOB A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


23 


After this, the two boys and the dog were together 
part of every day. The weather grew rapidly colder. 
It was the last week in November, and the ground 
was frozen hard. Thin ice was beginning to form 
along the banks of the Delaware, but it was easily 
broken by Pearson’s oars, as day after day he and 
Ben pushed the boat out into the stream, and rowed 



for several miles in one direction or the other. The 
boat had been left in Pearson’s possession, but Ben 
confided to him that there was hardly another to be 
found on the Delaware, or any of the small tributary 
streams. One by one they had been quietly gathered 
together, and fastened to the river bank in front of 
the town of Trenton. No explanation of this course 


24 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


was given, but it began to be generally understood 
that the boats would soon be needed. Some of the 
country people gave up their crafts willingly, but 
very many refused to relinquish them until obliged 
to do so by the committee in charge. 

“ They don’t know what they’re for,” Pearson 
suggested to Ben, when the latter indignantly told 
him of this reluctance of the people. 

“ Oh, yes, they do,” retorted Ben. “ Nearly every 
one knows now that the boats are being collected 
for our soldiers, and that’s just the reason most of 
these folks around here don’t want to give ’em up. 
They’re a great deal more anxious to make peace 
with England than they are to help the American 
army. They don’t want the war to come into New 
Jersey, because it will ruin the farms, perhaps, and 
maybe destroy some of the towns. They care more 
for their own safety and comfort than they do for 
the freedom of their country. Why, there’s Mr. 
Tucker, — Samuel Tucker, — do you know what he’s 
done ? ” 

“ No ; I don’t even know who he is.” 

“ Well, he’s one of New Jersey’s great men, or at 
least he was. He was the head of the convention 
that made our constitution, and the first man in the 
committee of safety, and the treasurer, and the judge 
of the Supreme Court; and yet he’s gone and ac- 
cepted Howe’s offer, and signed some papers saying 
he’d be true to the British ! And his doing it has 
made lots more do the same thing. Oh, I despise 


FOB A CHBISTMA8 PRESENT. 


25 


him, and everybody like him ! ” burst forth Ben, 
impetuously. “And I’m so sorry for General Wash- 
ington I don’t know what to do. I should think 
he’d just get discouraged and give up ! ” 

Every day after this some news was received from 
the army, which was rapidly approaching the river. 
Men came into Trenton from Hackensack, Newark, 
Brunswick, all bringing the same reports, — Wash- 
ington’s forces were retreating across New Jersey, 
and the redcoats, under Cornwallis, were always just 
behind them. Pearson and Ben felt that the war 
was coming very near, and they longed for and yet 
dreaded the immediate presence of the opposing 
forces. They eagerly questioned those who had 
seen either army in its rapid progress across the 
State ; and the descriptions which they received of 
the small and daily diminishing American forces 
filled them with dire forebodings and dismay. 

“ Have you seen that man from Brunswick that 
came into the town this morning ? ” Ben asked 
Pearson. “ He says our army is in an awful state. 
The men haven’t got anything., hardly, — no tents, 
and hardly any clothes for this cold weather; and 
lots of them are barefooted, and they’re tired out 
and discouraged. And he says that nearly all the 
ones whose enlistments have expired are going home, 
and lots of men are deserting every day. By the 
time they get here there’ll hardly be any army 
left! ” 

“ I know it. And the British troops have every- 


26 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


thing they need, and they are laughing at the Conti- 
nental soldiers, just as they used to do in Boston,’’ 
returned Pearson, with grief and indignation. 

“ Yes, they say Cornwallis’s army looks fine ; and 
they’re marching along after our men with their 
bands playing, and .their flags flying, and feeling per- 
fectly sure they’re going to beat. I tell you, Pear- 
son, I wouldn’t say so to any one else, but sometimes 
I’m terribly afraid of the way things are going to turn 
out for our side.” 

The first day of December came, and they heard 
that the American army would probably reach Prince- 
ton that night. 

“ Then they’ll be here to-morrow ! ” exclaimed both 
boys, in an excitement which was shared by every one 
for miles around. 

Early on the morning of December 2d, scores of 
men and boys were out on the road between Tren- 
ton and Princeton, to catch the first glimpse of the 
approaching forces. Among the rest, Pearson and 
Ben waited anxiously. 

“ Harry will be with them,” Pearson said, eagerly ; 
“ and we haven’t seen him since last August.” 

‘‘I do wish they’d come!” answered Ben, impa- 
tiently. “ It’s so cold, standing here.” 

It was cold, of course, and the time seemed long, 
for it was nearly noon before the waiting was ended. 
Then suddenly, and at last, the long-expected army 
came into sight. But what an army ! Slowly, wea- 
rily, like men who had fought, and lost, and suffered ; 



THE ARRIVAL OF THE AMERICAN FORCES 


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FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


29 


men who had been driven from place to place during 
days and weeks of defeat and failure ; retiring always 
before a pursuing enemy, made insolent by repeated 
successes, the little force which was the sole hope of 
American liberties came into view. Only the com- 
mander-in-chief and his aids were mounted, and their 
very horses seemed impressed by the sense of inade- 
quacy and hardship which prevailed. 

The waiting crowd were almost awestruck by this 
revelation of a state of things, for which even the 
repeated rumours of disaster had not prepared them. 
There were a few feeble cheers as the troops ap- 
proached, but they died away as the men marched 
by. Even the hostile and the indifferent — those who 
looked upon the war as rebellion, and those who cared 
chiefly that it should not bring personal loss and des- 
olation to their homes — were moved to respectful 
silence by the condition of this handful of men who 
were slowly passing. Very few had clothing sufficient' 
for that winter day ; the shoes of most were torn and 
broken ; in many cases the feet were altogether bare. 
Red tracks were left on the frozen ground, and many 
of the muskets were stained with blood from cold and 
bleeding hands. It was a pitiful sight, and it seemed, 
even to the most loyal among that silent crowd, to be 
a sight that marked a hopeless cause. 

Scarcely a word was spoken by the onlookers, 
until the last of the little band had gone by. Then 
Pearson and Ben, with the others who had come out 
that morning from Trenton and the outlying farms. 


30 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


turned back, and dispiritedly followed the aiany until 
the town was reached. 

“ Harry saw me,” was almost the only remark that 
Pearson made as they were on their homeward way. 
“ He’ll come to the farm to see us, I suppose, as soon 
as he can get leave of absence.” 

It was not until the next day that he came. All 
that afternoon the men were kept hard at work con- 
veying the stores and baggage across the river to the 
Pennsylvania side, and Harry Holcomb, as one of the 
marine regiment, could not be spared for an instant 
from the management of the boats as they were rowed 
again and again across the Delaware in the effort to 
finish the transportation before the close of the short 
December day. Ben and Pearson, with numbers of 
others, were on the river bank until the last boat-load 
had been carried over, and the soldiers had returned 
to the New Jersey side of the river, where, worn-out, 
cold, and hungry, they began to make their simple 
preparations for the night. 

The commander-in-chief had not rested during one 
hour of that busy afternoon. He had crossed the 
river with the first boats that had gone over, and had 
personally superintended the arrangements for the 
disposal of the baggage. Then he had returned to the 
New Jersey side, and as the hurried hours passed had 
seemed to be everywhere among the men, helping to 
bring order out of confusion, and by his own unwea- 
ried and incessant activities keeping up the courage 
and resolution of his soldiers. It was his spirit that 


FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 31 

pervaded men and officers alike, and at that time it 
might have been truly said of Washington that he 
alone was the American army. 

There’s nothing on earth I wouldn’t do for the 
chief,” declared Harry Holcomb the next day, to his 
father and mother and Pearson ; and every man 
in the army feels just as I do. We’d have gone to 
pieces long ago if it hadn’t been for him. A good 
many folks think we’re going to pieces soon anyway, 
and things do look pretty desperate, but I believe the 
general’s going to pull us through. No one who 
hasn’t seen it can have the slightest idea of what 
General Washington has been, and what he’s done, 
since the battle of Long Island. This retreat through 
the State has been awful. Over and over again we’ve 
been within cannon-shot of the redcoats. We had 
to pull down bridges behind us, and build ’em up in 
front of us ; we haven’t had enough to eat, or enough 
to wear; and it’s been nothing but discouragement 
and failure all along.- How we’ve come through it 
as well as we have, I don’t know. The chief did 
it, — that’s all I can say.” 

For four days the Continental army remained at 
Trenton, waiting for reinforcements. Then news 
came from Princeton that Cornwallis was advanc- 
ing upon the Americans, who were there under 
Stirling, and Washington set out to their assistance. 
On the way he met Stirling in full retreat towards 
Trenton, whereupon he faced about and returned 
with all the troops to that town. 


32 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


' On December 8tli the American forces crossed 
the Delaware to the Pennsylvania side, and took 
up their quarters there, a short distance back from 
the river. It was on Sunday morning that the 
rear guard, under the commander-in-chief himself, 
effected the crossiijg, and they were hardly on the 
opposite bank before Cornwallis’s army appeared in 
hot pursuit. But the boats were gone ! In vain 
the British officers rode up and down the banks of 
the river, seeking means of conveyance to the other 
side. None were to be had. Even Pearson’s boat 
had been impressed for the time into the service of 
the patriots, and with the others was closely guarded 
on the Pennsylvania shore. 

It gave the two boys the keenest delight to witness 
the spectacle of that English army, decked out in 
all the panoply of war, far superior in numbers and 
equipment to the small and ill-conditioned force 
across the river, yet, baffled by the foresight and 
generalship of the American commander, utterly 
unable to reach the object of its chase. 

“ Just in time ! ” cried Ben, gleefully. “ Our men 
got over just in time, didn’t they ? And not a boat 
left for old Cornwallis ! He can’t get across to save 
his life, unless he builds boats, or waits for the river 
to freeze over. I wonder which he’ll do.” 

It appeared that the British general had no inten- 
tion of adopting the former course, at any rate. No 
boat-building was attempted, and it seemed that, for 
the time at least, Cornwallis had abandoned the pur- 


FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


33 


suit of the Americans. In a few days it became 
known that he had gone to New York, leaving Grant 
in command in New Jersey. The main force of the 
British was stationed at Brunswick, while along the 
east bank of the Delaware were cantoned the German 
troops. 

At Trenton a brigade of three Hessian regiments 
was stationed, and the quiet little town became all 
at once a military post, full of life and bustle. 

The day that this disposition of the troops was 
effected, Ben came to Pearson in great excitement. 

‘‘ I’ve just come from the town,” he began, talking 
quickly, “ and it’s full of those tarnation Germans, 
or Hessians, , or whatever they call themselves ; and 
where do you think their commander has taken -up 
his headquarters?” 

“ I don’t know. Where ? ” asked Pearson, full of 
interest. 

‘‘ At my grandmother * of all places in the world ! 
You know how she hates anything connected with 
war, and now there she is, in the very centre of a 
military post, with the commander in her own house ! 
I’m really sorry for her. She’d give anything not 
to have him, but he took a notion to the place, and 
the location and all, and there he would go, and 
nowhere else. I was there when he came, this 
morning.” 

“ Well, that is bad,” said Pearson, sympathisingly. 
“ What kind of a looking man is he, and what’s his 
name ? ” 


34 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


‘‘His name is Rail, — Colonel Rail. Oh, he’s a 
good-looking man enough, but anybody can see he 
thinks he’s about the most important person there 
is in the English army. He strutted around there, 
giving his orders, and making a hundred times more 
fuss than General Washington did getting all our 
troops and baggage into camp on the other side of 
the river. He’s got two cannon put in front of the 
house, and I heard him give orders for a grand 
parade after dinner, with music, and all the show 
he can have. We’d better go and see the fun.” 

The boys went into Trenton that afternoon, and 
nearly every day after that for a week or more. 
They saw Colonel Rail very frequently when they 
stopped for brief calls on Ben’s grandmother, but 
neither their liking nor their respect for the Hessian 
officer increased with further acquaintance. The old 
Quaker lady was scandalised by the behaviour of her 
unwelcome guest. 

“ He is never in bed at night before twelve or one 
o’clock,” she complained to the boys ; “ and dear 
knows what goes on down-stairs after I have gone 
up to my room. I hear sounds of glasses, and loud 
songs, and I know there is card-playing; often the 
officers quarrel over it so that I tremble when I hear 
them. And in the morning, the colonel lies in bed 
till nine or ten o’clock, — Thursday morning he was 
in his bath when the guard came to present them- 
selves at headquarters, and they had to wait over 
half an hour for the colonel to appear.” 



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FOB A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


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The boys heard similar stories from other citizens 
of Trenton, on whom the troops were quartered. 
The Hessian regiments were anything but popular 
in the town, or in the neighbouring country. And 
very soon there began to be tales of depredations 
and outrages committed upon the New Jersey people, 
which showed a far worse condition of affairs than 
would have been brought about by only the vanity 
and folly of the commanding officer. Every day 
there were fresh stories of the seizure of property 
from both Whigs and Tories. Nothing was safe, — 
everything which the foreigners fancied was taken 
as a right ; and it became a daily occurrence for the 
boys to meet long trains of captured horses and 
cattle, and wagon-loads of provisions and other prop- 
erty being driven and carried by the mercenaries 
to the Hessian posts. When complaints were made 
to the officers commanding in New Jersey, no satis- 
faction was obtained ; the answer was coolly given 
that the Hessians had come to America with the 
expectation of getting plunder, and that to allow 
them to obtain it was the only way to prevent 
desertions. 

On the opposite side of the river, a very different 
state of affairs prevailed. There all was quiet. The 
homes of the country people had security and peace, 
for nothing was taken from the farmers but what 
was absolutely necessary for the maintenance of the 
army. There were no parades in the American 
camp, no martial music, and, indeed, very little of 


38 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


even the ordinary formalities which pertain to the 
headquarters of a national army. Neither officers 
nor men had much heart for unnecessary display 
just at that time, and the commander-in-chief, in 
particular, had graver matters for hand and mind 
than any military demonstrations for demonstrations’ 
sake. 

As soon as it \^as known that Cornwallis had left 
the State, and things became, for the time at least, 
comparatively quiet along the Delaware, those per- 
sons who were known to be loyal to the American 
cause had been allowed to repossess themselves of 
boats for their own use. Pearson was' among those 
who thus obtained their rowboats again, and after 
that he and Ben crossed the river every day to spend 
some time with Harry Holcomb and others in the 
patriot camp. The two boys were soon well known 
among the Continental soldiers, and were great 
favourites with all the men. Colonel always ac- 
companied his master on these trips, and it was 
curious to see the distinction which the dog made 
between the American and the British soldiers. 
With the former he was in high favour, and he 
seemed to appreciate, and as far as he could to 
reciprocate, the attentions which were shown him 
in Washington’s camp. But among the men on 
the other side of the river he behaved himself like 
a different dog. Pearson shrewdly suspected that 
some of the Hessians must have ill-treated Colonel 
on some of their marauding expeditions, for the very 


FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


39 


sight of a redcoat was enough to make the dog 
begin to growl, and he acted as if nothing would 
please him better than to challenge one of those 
foreigners to settle the whole matter of the Revo- 
lution by single combat. 

After their daily visits to the American camp, the 
boys usually rowed the four or five miles further up 
the river to the home of Pearson’s grandparents ; but 
as the season advanced, and the weather grew colder, 
the floating ice in the water began to render it more 
and more difficult to do this. Two or three days 
before Christmas there was so much ice in the stream 
that, as the boys were rowing down towards Trenton 
after one of their visits to the Van Brunt farm, their 
boat narrowly escaped being crushed between two of 
the floating, frozen masses. 

“We sha’n’t be able to do this much longer, Ben,” 
remarked Pearson, regretfully. “ In fact, I shouldn’t 
wonder if this will be our last row for the season.” 

“ Well, if it is,” answered Ben, “ we’ll soon be able 
to go across on the ice. You can skate, can’t you ?” 

“ Oh, yes, I can skate,” returned Pearson ; “ but 
I’ll be sorry to -have the river freeze up, just the same. 
I say, Ben, when it does get solid from shore to shore, 
what’s to prevent those Hessian ruffians from crossing 
over to our camp if they want to ? ” 

“ Nothing’s to prevent ’em,” Ben answered, with 
sudden gravity. 

“ What if Cornwallis should come back and take 
his whole army across the river ? ” continued Pearson, 


40 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


suggestively. “ You know as well as 1 do that our 
side hasn’t men enough to resist an attack, any more 
than it had a month ago.” 

“I know it,” replied Ben, gloomily. ‘‘I’ve been 
feeling sort of happy for the last week or so, thinking 
how finely the chief got our men over there just in 
time, and took all the boats so old Cornwallis couldn’t 
follow ; but now it’s plain enough that boats won’t be 
needed long, and I don’t see but what things are going 
to be as bad as ever again.” 

The river was not frozen over quite as soon as the 
boys expected. They were able to go out again next 
day, and the next, until it became the twenty-fourth 
of December, — the day before Christmas. Then Mr. 
and Mrs. Holcomb and Pearson were invited by the 
old people to cross the river on the following day, 
and take their Christmas dinner at the Dutch home- 
stead ; and as Pearson and Ben had become by this 
time almost inseparable companions, Mrs. Van Brunt 
kindly suggested that her grandson might bring his 
friend with him, — a suggestion which Ben most joy- 
fully accepted. The party were to row up the river 
to the farm, if possible; but if there should be too 
much ice in the stream on Christmas morning, they 
had decided to drive north eight or nine miles, and 
cross at MacKonkey’s ferry. 

The day came, and with it a disappointment. Mrs. 
Holcomb had been taken ill in the night, and would 
not be able to go out. Her husband would not go 
without her, but they both decided that there was no 


FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


41 


reason why the boys could not have their anticipated 
pleasure. 

‘‘ Your mother isn’t sick enough to keep you home, 
Pearson,” Mr. Holcomb said ; “ so you and Ben go 
over and tell the old folks why we couldn’t all come. 
Stay to dinner, of course, but be sure to start back 
early in the afternoon. You won’t want to take Col- 
onel, will you ? ” 

“ Oh, yes, I will,” replied Pearson ; “ he’ll make the 
boat steadier.” 

“ Make the boat heavier, you mean,” said Mr. Hol- 
comb, laughing ; ‘‘ but I suppose you’d want to take 
him if he weighed a ton. Well, be sure to come home 
before dark.” 

This the boys agreed to do. First they went down 
to the river bank, and debated the question of going 
in the rowboat. Boy-like, the amount of ice that 
was floating in the stream, and the consequent diffi- 
culty that there would be in effecting the passage, 
only stimulated their desire to try that method of 
getting to their Christmas dinner. They both decided 
that it would be possible (and if a little dangerous, 
so much the better) to row up to the Van Brunt farm, 
as long as they could see where they were going, and 
avoid the floating masses of ice ; but even their temer- 
ity did not extend so far but that they felt that it 
would be a very hazardous thing to attempt to go on 
the river after dark, and they resolved to leave the 
homestead early in the afternoon. 

So they started, boys and dog, and, by clever man- 


42 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


agement and not a little hard labour on the part of the 
former, they succeeded in reaching their destination 
soon after ten o’clock in the morning, having left their 
homes two hours before. 

A Christmas welcome greeted them. They ex- 
plained the non-arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb, and 
then spent the hour or two before dinner in skating 
on a pond in one of the fields. By noon it seemed 
to the boys that they had had nothing to eat for at 
least a week, and they brought to the holiday dinner 
such appetites that Mr. Van Brunt said gravely that 
it was fortunate that the other guests had been un- 
able to come, or the supply, bountiful as it appeared, 
might have failed to meet the demand. 

“ What did Harry say was the reason he couldn’t 
come ? ” asked Pearson, between two mouthfuls of 
pie. 

“ He did not give any reason,” answered the grand- 
mother. ‘‘ He said he was sorry, but he could not get 
leave of absence for to-day, and he did not seem to 
want me to ask any questions.” 

“ That’s queer,” commented Ben ; “ there can’t be 
anything for him to do in camp now, can there ? ” 

At this moment, Pearson chanced to look out of the 
window. 

“ Hello ! ” he exclaimed ; “ see how it’s snowing.” 

Every one turned to look, and sure enough, while 
they had been finishing their Christmas dinner, the 
world outside had begun to be filled with the flying 
flakes of a hard snowstorm. The wind was rising. 


FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


43 


too, and before three o’clock in the afternoon it was 
blowing a gale from the northeast. 

You boys must not try to get home to-night,”, 
said Mr. Van Brunt, hospitably. “They will not ex- 
pect you in this storm, and we shall be glad to have 
you here.” 

“ Oh, thank you, sir,” answered Pearson ; “ but I 
must go. Mother is sick, 
you know, and I couldn’t 
possibly stay away all 
night.” 

“ Neither could I,” said 
Ben ; “ I said I would be 
home before dark, and of 
course I wouldn’t let Pear- 
son go alone, anyway. 1 
don’t believe we’ll have 
any trouble if we start 
right away.” 

“Well, if you must go,” said Mr. Van Brunt, 
regretfully, “ we won’t ask you to wait another mo- 
ment. If you were not as strong and hardy as you 
are, I should be afraid to have you try it ; but you 
are used to being out in stormy weather, and you both 
know how to manage a boat, so I hope you will get 
home without any accident.” 

The boys had been putting on their caps and 
mufflers even while they were talking, and now, with 
hasty good-byes, and assurances that they would be all 
right, they went bravely out into the storm. 



GRANDMA VAN BRUNT. 


44 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


“ Whew ! ” whistled Ben, as they ran across the 
fields down to the river, “ how the wind does howl ! 
It’s lucky for us it’s blowing towards home, Pearson.” 

They reached the west bank of the Delaware, but 
then stopped, and looked down with dismay at what 
was before them. The snow was falling fast, yet 
through the whirl of flakes the water was plainly 
visible. It looked dark and cold and angry, and it 
was full of huge blocks of ice which were being every 
instant ground together by the short, choppy waves 
that rose and fell continually. Pushed and buffeted 
by the wind, the cakes were never still for a second, 
and a yard or two of black water that was clear and 
free at one moment would the next be covered with 
tossing masses of ice and snow. 

The boys’ hearts almost failed them. Accustomed 
as both were to braving all kinds of storms, the con- 
viction came to each one now that to row a boat for 
five miles, down such a river as that, would be almost 
an impossibility. Yet neither boy said so, — each 
waited for the other to propose to give up the attempt 
to get home that night. They stood there a minute 
longer in silence, while the wind whistled past them, 
and they could hear the thump and crash of the jos- 
tling blocks of ice below. Then Pearson spoke. 

“ Where is the boat ? ” he asked, quietly. 

Ben caught his breath quickly, but only answered: 

“It must be just below here, — that’s where we 
left it.” Without another word they made their way 
to the place where they had drawn the boat up on the 
river bank that morning. 


FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


45 


But it was not there ! Hurriedly they ran up and 
down the shore, thinking they might have mistaken 
the spot in the storm ; but no boat was to be seen. 
Colonel, whose St. Bernard blood no storm could 
daunt, went racing back and forth, bounding on be- 
fore the boys with his joyous bark, as if he thought 
the whole adventure had been planned with direct 
reference to his pleasure and excitement. 

“ Where can it have gone ? ” panted Ben, after 
nearly fifteen minutes of fruitless search. “ It couldn’t 
have been blown away, could it ? ” 

“No, of course it couldn’t,” retorted Pearson. 
“We drew it way up on to the bank, and it couldn’t 
have got away, unless some one has taken it.” 

“ Who would take it in this storm ? ” asked Ben, 
incredulously. 

“ Then where is it ? ” 

“ I don’t know ; it isn’t here, anyway.” 

They searched for a short time longer, and then 
Ben asked : 

“ What can we do ? ” 

“ I know what Fm going to do,” returned Pearson, 
firmly ; “ I’m going to the ferry.” 

“Walk?” cried Ben. 

“ Yes.” 

“ And walk home nine miles on the other side of 
the river ? ” 

“ Yes. I’ve often walked further than that.” 

“ So have I, but not in such a storm as this.” 

“ I don’t believe it will be as bad as it would have 


46 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


been rowing down the river. Anyway, Pm going to 
do it.’’ 

“ Then so am 1. I can do it if you can.” 

“ Come on, then. Come, Colonel ! ” was Pearson’s 
only reply ; and tying their scarfs more tightly over 
their ears and around their throats, the boys started. 

They had gone bn bravely and steadily for over a 
mile, when suddenly Colonel stopped, put his nose to 
the ground, sniffed a little, and began to whine. 

“ What is it. Colonel ? ” exclaimed Pearson, running 
up to the dog. He stooped over and examined the 
snow at his feet for a moment, and then cried, quickly, 
‘‘ Ben, look here ! This is blood ! ” 

“ Blood ! ” repeated Ben, in amazement ; “ so it is,” 
as he also bent over the pink spot on the ground. 

And look here, — here’s some more,” cried Pear- 
son, going on a few steps further. “ And here’s 
another place ! ” he continued, rapidly. 

“ It’s the tracks of some one who has gone along here 
without any shoes,” said Ben, excitedly. 

“ I should say it’s the tracks of a good many people 
without shoes,” returned Pearson. There are too 
many of them, and they’re not in the right places for 
only one person’s marks.” 

“ Who do you suppose has left them?” 

Pearson did not answer for a moment; then he 
asked, slowly: 

“ Ben, what men go without shoes in this weather ? ” 

Ben started. The army! ” he exclaimed. “ Do 
you think it’s our army, Pearson ? ” 



‘ HEX, LOOK HERE, 


THIS IS BLOOD ! ’ ” 









FOE A CHEIST3IAS PEESENT, 


49 


“Yes, I do,’’ answered Pearson; “it must be.” 

“ But when did they pass us ? It can’t be very 
long since they went by here, or these tracks would 
have been covered up by the snow.” 

“ They must have gone down the road while we were 
at dinner ; or else they went by while we were looking 
for the boat, and we didn’t hear them on account of 
the wind.” 

“ Maybe it was some of the army men that took our 
boat this morning,” suggested Ben. “ Perhaps they 
need all the boats they can get, for something they’re 
going to do. What do you suppose it is ?” 

“ I don’t know ; but probably that’s why Harry 
couldn’t go to grandpa’s to dinner. Say, Ben, they’ll 
be at the ferry ! If they’re going to cross the river 
for anything, that’s the best place. Come on, quick ! ” 

They started again, running as long as they could 
through the snow, which was getting deeper and deeper, 
and, when they were out of breath, settling down to a 
hurried walk. Their search for the boat had delayed 
their start from the Yan Brunt farm, and the difficulty 
of making their way through the storm so hindered 
their progress that it was almost sunset when at last 
they came in sight of MacKonkey’s ferry, 

A quarter of a mile before they reached the place. 
Colonel began to show signs of excitement, and to run 
eagerly on ahead of the boys. They quickened their 
pace again, and in five minutes more they saw, as 
Pearson had predicted, — the army. 

There they were, in the winter twilight, two thou- 


50 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


sand four hundred men, scantily clad, and in as forlorn 
a condition as when they had marched across New 
Jersey a month before. They had come six miles 
through the storm, from the American camp, that 
afternoon, and were already cold and tired ; yet even 
the boys could see, as they came upon the little band 
of patriots, that- something was before them to be done 
that night, in comparison with which the soldiers 
would regard their previous fatigue and suffering as 
matters of no consequence whatever. There was an 
air of resolute determination about every man ; but as 
Pearson and Ben stood for a moment regarding them 
silently, the whole force and purpose of the army 
seemed to be centred and concentrated in one individ- 
ual, — the commander-in-chief. Years afterward the 
boys agreed that never, for any other man, at any other 
time, had they felt such a thrill of admiration and 
devoted affection as at that moment they felt for 
Washington. Scarcely better clothed than his hum- 
blest private, surrounded by no pomp of military cir- 
cumstance, in the midst of every condition of privation 
and discouragement, yet there he stood that Christmas 
night, at the head of his little army, calm, resolute, 
and undismayed, — the hero of a nation. 

After the first moment of startled silence the boys 
began eagerly to ask questions of their friends in the 
ranks. Why were they here ? Where were they 
going ? What were they going to do ? The answers 
they received made them almost breathless with 
astonishment. 


FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 51 

“To Trenton ! To-night ! ” they repeated, incredu- 
lously. “ In this storm ?” 

“ We mean to take Trenton to-night,” one of the 
men replied, resolutely ; “ and we’d do it if it stormed 
a thousand times worse than it does.” 

“ Pearson,” said Harry Holcomb, taking his brother 
aside, “ what are you 
and Ben doing here ? 

Weren’t you at grand- 
father’s to dinner ? ” 

Pearson hastily re- 
counted the loss of the 
boat, their determina- 
tion to go home that 
night, if possible, and 
the resolve to cross the 
river at the ferry, and 
walk down on the other 
side. 

“ Some of the men 
were out this morning, 
collecting any stray 
boats they might find, and all we have are just below 
here in the river,” explained Harry. “ That’s where 
your boat is, I suppose. But now you’re here, Pear- 
son, what do you expect to do ? The army has taken 
possession of the ferry, of course, and no one can 
cross, — not a human being, for any purpose whatever. 
You’d better go back to grandfather’s, and stay there 
till to-morrow. The folks won’t expect you home 
to-night.” 



ON TO TRENTON. 


52 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


‘‘ Ben,” called out Pearson, “ come here. Harry 
says,” he continued, as Ben came up, “ that we’d 
better go back to the farm and stay all night. We 
can’t go over the ferry, — no one can.” 

How is the army going over ? ” demanded Ben. 

“ In the boats. They’re just below here, and Harry 
thinks ours is there, too.” 

“ Can’t we cross in it, then ? ” 

“ No, you can’t,” returned Harry, shortly. “ Every 
boat will be needed for the men and the field-pieces. 
There is no need of your crossing at all. They won’t 
expect you at home in this storm, and you can just as 
well go back to grandfather’s as not.” 

The boys exchanged glances. 

“ But, Harry,” Pearson began, impetuously, “ you 
don’t understand. We don’t want to go back. We 
want to go across with you.” 

‘‘You want to cross with the army?” exclaimed 
Harry. 

“Yes, we do.” 

“ You don’t know what you’re talking about. You 
might have to wait here half the night before there’d 
be a chance for you to go over, and the crossing’s 
going to be a terribly hard and dangerous thing, as 
you can see for yourself. Then you’d have to go with 
us to Trenton, and you might get killed.” 

“ Yon! re going to do it,” urged Ben. 

“ Of course I am. It’s my duty to do it.” 

“ But you know you’d go, whether it was your duty 
or not. You wouldn’t stay back to-night for anything 


FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT, 


53 


in the world, and we feel just the same way. Oh, 
Harry, don’t say we can’t go ! ” 

The young soldier hardly knew what to answer. 
He sympathised perfectly with the boys’ eager desire 
to share the adventures and even the hardships of the 
expedition, and in his heart he was proud of their pluck 
and patriotic spirit. He hesitated, but at last he said, 
though half reluctantly: 

“ Well, if you want to go so much, I suppose you’ll 
have to do it. But don’t blame me if you’re sorry for 
it before you get through^” 

“We won’t, we won’t ! ” agreed the boys, joyfully ; 
“ but we’re not going to be sorry.” 

Even while they had been talking, the preparations 
for the first crossing had been going on, and Harry 
was called to join his regiment in manning the boats. 
Silently the embarkation began. It was already dark, 
and the cold was becoming more and more severe. 
The current in the river was very strong, and even as 
the boats put out from shore they were blown out of 
their course, down the stream, while every instant the 
floating masses of ice threatened to crush them. 
With all the skill and experience of the fishermen 
from Marblehead, every crossing that was effected 
that night was made in the midst of almost overwhelm- 
ing difficulty and danger. Yet not an accident occurred, 
— not a boat was lost. 

Hour after hour the perilous work was carried on, 
while the boys stood on the river bank, with Colonel 
at their side, and waited for their turn to come. 


54 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


Wet, tired out, and half frozen as they were, they 
thought oecasionally of the warm beds that might 
have been theirs at the V an Brunt farm ; yet not for 
a moment did they wish themselves anywhere but 
where they were. 

It was nearly one o’clock in the morning before 
Harry came to them, and told them that the last men 
were going over now, and that they — the boys — 
could come with him in the boat which he was help- 
ing to manage. Gladly they followed him, and 
climbing with difficulty into the heaving, wet, and ice- 
coated rowboat, they huddled together in the bow, 
with Colonel at their feet. 

They never forgot that crossing. The night was 
so dark that they could not see the water for more 
than three feet ahead of them. On all sides they 
could hear the ice, heaving and tossing, and crashing 
one block against another ; and brave boys as they 
were, their hearts were in their throats over and over 
again as the floating blocks ground against the sides 
of their boat, and it seemed that they must be cap- 
sized and swept into the freezing water. The snow 
had turned to sleet and hail, and the boys bent over 
and covered their faces with their arms to save them- 
selves from the sharp, stinging particles that the wind 
was driving against them. It was an experience of a 
lifetime. 

At last they reached the New Jersey shore, and as 
they landed, and made their way up the bank, the 
boys again caught a glimpse of Washington. He had 


FOB A CHBISTMAS PBESENT. 


55 


crossed with the first boat-loads, early in the evening, 
and had been waiting ever since, feeling the precious 
time go by, his heart full of anxiety as to what was to 
be the result of this enterprise, on which, in all proba- 
bility, the fate of his country depended, and yet out- 
wardly calm and confident, cheering the men, and 
giving them resolution by his own undaunted courage. 

It was three o’clock before the transportation of 
men and artillery was finally effected, and yet another 
hour was gone before the troops were formed in order 
for the march. Then eight miles of icy road lay 
between them and Trenton, to be traversed by men 
already nearly exhausted by the labours and hardships 
of the night. Bravely they started forward, and for 
mile after mile they struggled along, with bleeding 
feet, and bodies terribly exposed to the awful weather. 
And with the others went Pearson and Ben, often 
almost overcome by the storm and fatigue, yet always 
glad that they were there. It had been an awful 
night, but they were not sorry to have lived it. 

At daylight the soldiers halted. At Birmingham 
the army had been separated into two divisions, and, 
as Sullivan’s troops waited now for Washington’s men 
to reach the cross-road, the former general sent word 
to the commander-in-chief that the storm had wet the 
muskets of his soldiers, and rendered them useless. 
Pearson and Ben were with Washington’s division, 
and they heard the chief’s answer to this report, and 
his quick, imperative order to the aid who had brought 
the message. 


56 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


“Tell your general,” said Washington, sternly, “to 
use the bayonet, and penetrate into the town ; for the 
town must be taken, and I am resolved to take it ! ” 

By eight o’clock the Continental army was in the 
vicinity of Trenton, and the advance-guard was 
ordered to charge on the German picket. As the 
patriots came up, they were discovered by one of 
the Hessians at the outpost, and the man cried out 
in alarm : 

“ Her feind ! der feind ! heraus ! heraus ! ” (The 
enemy ! the enemy ! turn out ! turn out !) 

Taken by surprise, the patrol fell back in confu- 
sion into the town. Washington advanced with the 
artillery, and entered Trenton by King and Queen 
Streets. In a few moments alarms were sounding 
everywhere, and the whole place was in an uproar. 
Some of the enemy fired wildly from behind houses, 
while others rushed forth and attempted to form in 
order of battle. Presently Colonel Rail appeared, on 
horseback, but without the presence of mind to do 
anything to lessen the general confusion. He tried 
to rally his men, crying bewilderedly, “ Forward, 
march ; advance, advance ! ” but at the same time 
reeling in his saddle like a drunken man. Before his 
regiment could form, its cannon were rapidly dis- 
mounted by the Americans, and Rail began to fall 
back. Then, rashly changing his mind, he cried, 
suddenly, “ All who are my grenadiers, forward ! ” 
and himself led a wild charge upon the patriots. 

All at once, as he was dashing on, the Hessian 



> 99 


“^TELL YOUR GENERAL TO USE THE BAYONET. 









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FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 59 

colonel was seen to lurch forward. He threw up his 
arms with a groan, and then fell heavily from his 
horse, fatally wounded. His men, dismayed by the 
fall of their chief, began a hasty retreat towards 
Assanpuik Creek, but were cut off by a force quickly 
despatched by Washington for that purpose. After 
vainly trying to cross the stream, the enemy grounded 
their arms, and surrendered. 

During the whole of the action, which had lasted 
about thirty-five minutes, Pearson and Ben had not 
known whether their friends or their enemies were 
winning the day. It was, of course, the first battle 
the boys had ever seen, and both forces appeared to 
them to be mixed up in inextricable confusion. 
They were too excited to be afraid, although they 
were really in some danger, for the troops on both 
sides jostled against them, pushing them to one side 
and another, as the fighting became more furious in 
the main street of the town. 

Indeed, Pearson very nearly lost his life on that 
memorable morning, and he was saved only by 
Colonel’s devotion to his master, and his animos- 
ity towards the enemy. The dog had fairly bristled 
with excitement and rage from the first moment of 
the skirmish ; for to see the hated redcoats in conflict 
with the army of his friends w;as more than his loyal 
dog’s heart could possibly endure with calmness. He 
dashed wildly to and fro, barking furiously, making 
sudden charges upon detested Hessian calves, and 
doing not a little to annoy , and harass the enemy. In 


60 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


the midst of one of these onslaughts, Colonel suddenly 
saw his young master receive a blow from a Hessian 
musket that brought Pearson to the ground. It is 
not probable that the foreigner intended to hurt the 
unarmed boy, but the boy was in the way, and the 
blow was given without a thought. In another mo- 
ment Pearson would have been trampled upon, and 
killed in the wild rush of the enemy’s charge, but with 
one bound Colonel was by his master’s prostrate form. 
For an instant only could the dog check the onward 
force of the Hessians, but that instant was enough to 
enable Pearson, who had not been seriously hurt by 
the musket blow, to scramble to his feet, and push 
his way out of the centre of the turmoil. Colonel 
followed him until he was safe at one side of the 
conflict, and then the dog returned to take his part 
in the fray, as before. 

Pearson found Ben, from whom he had been sep- 
arated, and together the boys watched the short skir- 
mish with beating hearts. They witnessed Colonel 
Rail’s vain endeavour to form his men for action, his 
hasty charge at the head of his regiment, and then 
his sudden hurt and fall. There were' a few more 
moments of confused running and shouting ; then sud- 
denly the fighting seemed to cease, and, with one 
impulse, the boys began to make their way towards 
the spot where Washington was standing. They 
reached the commander as he was in the act of 
receiving the sword which Colonel Rail, pale and 
fainting, and supported by a file of sergeants, was 


FOR A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. 


61 


delivering up to his victorious foe. At that moment 
an American officer rode up for orders, and Washing- 
ton, turning, took him by the hand, and said with 
deep feeling: 

“ Major Wilkinson, this is a glorious day for our 
country ! ” 

But there was not much time for exultation. The 
patriots could not stay in Trenton, almost surrounded 
by the enemy’s forces, but, exhausted as they were, 
they must push back across the Delaware that very 
day, taking the prisoners and captured artillery with 
them. 

In the midst of the hurry and confusion of the 
preparations to return to the Pennsylvania side of 
the river, the great-hearted American commander 
found time to visit his conquered foe. Colonel Rail 
had been carefully moved to his headquarters at the 
home of his Quaker hostess, and from there word 
was brought to Washington that the Hessian com- 
mander was dying. 

“ Pearson and I were there at grandma’s when the 
chief came in to see Colonel Rail,” Ben recounted 
that afternoon to eager listeners. ‘‘You’d never 
have thought that General Washington had just 
beaten a fight, and conquered Rail. He didn’t seem 
a bit triumphant ; he just acted sorry and sympa- 
thising, as if he and that Hessian had always been 
good friends. He took hold of Rail’s hand, and 
asked him if there was anything he could do for him. 
The colonel was so weak he could hardly talk, but 


62 


ONE THOUSAND MEN 


I think he did appreciate the chiefs kindness. He 
said, so low we could hardly hear him, and as if 
he couldn’t get his breath, ‘ No, thank you, — general. 
I must surrender — to you — and death.’ I couldn’t 
help feeling sorry for him, and the chief didn’t say 
another word, but just went away, looking a great 
deal more sober than he did when we saw him last 
night in the storm, by the river.” 

After this, both boys went out to see the American 
army start on its march back to the ferry. 

“ Look at the prisoners, Ben,” said Pearson, as, 
closely guarded, the Hessians began to pass them. 
“How many do you suppose there are?” 

“ I know,” answered Ben ; “ one of our men told 
me. There’s just about a thousand of them.” 

“ Whew ! ” exclaimed Pearson, “ as many as that ? 
What’s going to be done with ’em ?” 

“ I don’t know,” answered Ben, looking after the 
retreating forms, and speaking thoughtfully ; “ but I 
should think they’d make a good Christmas present 
for the country.” 


THE END. 




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